No Man’s Sky has been linked to the Waking Titan ARG since June , and recent updates confirm the game’s place in its larger plans. In fact, a series of radio ads and a Waking Titan Twitch stream offer fairly direct suggestions that the initiative largely concerns the game’s 1.3 update that appears to be releasing in August.
The hype train got rolling on Saturday, following a series of four ads played during Howard Stern’s radio broadcast. The contents sounded fairly similar to promotions played at the start of the ARG, but morse code hidden underneath the dialogue revealed a few key phrases: “probabilistic computing,” “evolutionary computing,” “lateral computing” and “blue white red yellow black.”
It’s that fourth and final code, however, that proved to be the most fruitful. It seems to refer to a system for classifying different types of thinking known as the “six thinking hats,” which describe the various ways children think.
- Blue: Process, planning
- Green: Creativity, thinking of possibilities
- White: Facts, neutral thoughts
- Yellow: Benefits, positive thoughts
- Red: Feelings, gut-thinking
- Black: Cautious, negative thoughts
When the phrase “six thinking hats” is entered into the latest sigil on The Waking Titan website , users gain access to a PDF with the following message:
“We want to extend our gratitude to everyone who's contributed to the Mercury subroutine so far. We hope you have enjoyed the distribution of 180 access IDs, and we hope you will also appreciate the other interesting artifacts we have in store for you going forward. We intend to keep the process alive until the completion of Project Waking Titan in August.
“It is important to mention that we are excited by the coming Phase 2 and 3. Input from the Mercury subroutine will pave the way toward new experiences in version 1.3 of a familiar universe. We look forward to the conclusion of this groundbreaking experiment.
“Regards,
S.M.”
There’s a lot to unpack here, so we’ll go in order. First and foremost is the confirmation that Waking Titan concludes in August. As for those 180 access IDs, S.M. is seemingly referring to the 180 No Man’s Sky codes sent to select ARG participants a few weeks back.
In the second paragraph, “version 1.3 of a familiar universe” is a direct callback to No Man’s Sky update 1.3. For those still not convinced, the S.M. initials are a pretty obvious allusion to infamous No Man’s Sky programmer Sean Murray. Connecting all those dots, a 1.3 August launch has been strongly suggested at the very least.
That message was fully addressed a day later via a Waking Titan Twitch stream featuring Atlas Corporation CEO Elizabeth Leighton. In the brief broadcast, she announced Phase 1 had officially completed and Phase 2 will begin July 21. Until then, interested explorers can enter their email addresses here to gain access to a level 4 Atlas Pass in the future.
It’s all fairly complex to take in, and lots of questions still need answers. How will the incoming phases differ from the previous one? Why might the “six thinking hats” be significant to update 1.3? What will this new Atlas Pass offer? Will user interaction within the ARG impact the features of the update? We’ll have to wait a few weeks to find out.
No Man’s Sky is available now on PS4 and PC. For more details about this ARG, click here.
What do you think of the Waking Titan ARG so far? Will you return to No Man’s Sky when 1.3 releases? Tell us in the comments section!
